Samuel Adams LongShot Friar Hop Ale
Richard Roper’s brew combines his love of hops with his affinity for spicy Belgian ales. The toasty caramel sweetness from the malt and Belgian candi sugar are balanced by distinct citrus hop notes, spicy yeast fermentation and hunts of orange and coriander.
3.5
232 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
Pours a copper color with a very nice, creamy , off-white head with great staying power. Aroma is very faint with light notes of coriander, lemon and some spicy hops kick. Flavor starts off with a strong coriander kick. Lemon citrus notes come in the middle with a late spicy yeasty kick toward the end. The finish has a slight hop leaf bitterness kick to finish it off. Body is modest, light crispness to it, very fine carbonation and a light alcohol kick at the very end. Overall a pretty good brew. I think it’s one that follows the typical Belgian trend in that it gets better as it warms.
Bottle. Musty orange, coriander, malt and alcohol aroma. Golden yellow color with small head. Slightly sweet/musty lemon and malt flavor. Moderately bitter herbal finish. Very nice.
Bottle. Deep orange gold with a finely bubbled white head. Aroma is sweet, lots of spicy yeast and ripe peaches intermingled with caramel. Flavour is, as expected, quite sweet, with barley candy, cooked peaches, pears, and some nice spicy yeasty elements tangled up in there. This went down swiftly, and only afterward did I pick up on the 9% ABV! Stealthy and crazy drinkable!
Bottle. Orange-red-amber with a sticky top. This drinks with a subtle undertow, hinting at Belgian roots, sugary and hinting at high gravity. But riding the surface is an American hoppiness, also well restrained. Interesting mash-up style of a beer, and quite delicious. (#4360, 11/20/2011)
10/15/11. 12oz bottle thanks to PorterPounder! Clear orange pour - almost like an Oktoberfest or a pumpkin liqeur - with a small khaki head that fades and laces very little. Fruity, estery, Belgian aroma - definite candy sugar - with yeast, a bit of tart fruit, orange peel, and spice. Sweet, malty and candy flavors, a bit of caramel, and definite fruitiness - banana and bubblegum. A touch of citrus hops. Not bad.
Poured from a 12oz bottle into a Sam Adams pint glass.
The color is a dark gold with a finger and a half of foamy white head and some slight lacing left on the glass.
The smell is a bit yeasty with some malty aroma kicking out beyond and then back again letting itself be announced. Some slight hop aroma is there mixed with some spiciness that is quite interesting.
The taste is sweet at first with a nice caramel flavor. The malts do boost the flavor a bit as it seems to land on either side of the bitterness that rides in with some spicy hop flavor. Things stay balanced until the end when the bitterness grows and pushes some of the malt flavor out of the way.
The feel of this beer is pretty inviting and has a nice medium body and is pretty drinkable. It goes down easy and has slight aftertaste that is pleasant.
12oz bottle from Pick’s poured into my Chimay Trappist glass. Pours a lightly cloudy orange with a small bit of white head. Aroma of citrus, candied sugar and fermented fruit. Taste is lightly sweet. Taste of banana, clove and bubblegum. Medium bodied with a thick and creamy texture. Lively carbonation and a long sweet finish. Overall, very good. Easily the best of the Longshot bunch this year.
Golden-amber color with a thin head. Minimal lacing. The aroma shows flowers, candi sugar, Belgian yeast, herbal spice notes, and is fairly hoppy. The flavor however, has a lot of sweet caramel and toffee that’s joined by sugars, yeast, and a tangy orange spice. The palate is a bit sticky; not too bad but it is mildly distracting. There are some finishing bitter citrus hops, which is welcomed with all the sweeter flavors. Decent beer. I think I’d like it more though if it were in the 6-7% range.
Nose of spices and hops, some yeast and light grains, slightly sweet. Pours clear golden, white head persists and leaves lots of lacing. Flavor is phenolic Belgian yeast, spices, some sweet malts, citrus from the hops. Medium body and carbonation.
(12oz bottle best by Sep 2011 thanks to Dixonian) clear copper/amber with effervescent bubbles. Nose of cereal grain, fruit loops and milk. Taste of cereal grain, orange, alcohol, and stewed tomato.
clear slightly bubbly gold, medium off white head, lots of lace. fruity, yeasty belgiany nose. slight hop presence. flavor is fruity, yeasty, dry. mostly fruity i think. full bodied, very dry finish. a touch mild and too fruity to me, and once more, too dry for summer nights.
I meant I should have done one of this year’s LongShots as my 2300th beer because the contest was about Category 23 styles, you see, and, oh, well. Got htis in March and couldn’t get around until now. So, call this a Belgian Pale Ale. Pours a lovely amber in the glass, under a pale ale head with some lacing. Smell has coriander to it. Can’t place much hop to this bottle that’s at the end of it’s "Enjoy by" month. Now some notes of Belgian sugar. Taste is a mix of Belgian character: candi sugar in evidence, but not too much. Hop influence has dwindled, and the malts are rather in the Dubbel territory. Not as much spice on the tongue, which is fine by me. What we end up with is a nice, big, malty sweet beer. It was indeed hoppier when I sampled it at its debut in March. But still worth having, but have it soon.
Clear copper pour with a nice white head. Estery banana/juicy fruit aromas with a hint of pepper and coriander. Flavors of pepper, lavender, and banana esters with a nice dry bitter finish to contrast with the slightly sweet start. Medium bodied mouthfeel with a bit af barklike astringency. Well done ... and well done to Sam Adams for the Longshot homebrew competition!
Penny color with a compact white head of considerable lasting power. Yeasty and bready aroma. Uncomplicated flavor, earthy hops and stone fruit. Lively carbonation keep it from being too sweet.
12oz bottle from Spec’s (bought a while back). Pour is hazy gold with 2 fingers of off-white head that lasts and laces. Initial aroma is sweet fruit, honey and banana. Flavor is spicy and fruity, with a bit of floral hop bitterness at the end. Nice substantial mouthfeel. Less warming alcohol flavor than you might expect from a 9% beer, making it deceptively drinkable. Nice beer!
Bottle. Pours a light ambery golden with a large off-white head. Smells of bananas, cherry, bubble gum. Tastes sweet up front and finishes roasted and almost (but not quite) smoky. Has some citrus and spice in there as well. Interesting.
12oz. bottle. Sweet, honeyish aroma, malty, spicy and fruity with notes of citrus, coriander, lemon pepper, caramel and estery yeast, along with faint herbal hop and orange peel in the background. Deep, hazy medium-dark copper color, with a lasting, uneven, off-white head. Flavor is a powerful blend of sweet, toasty, bready malts, honey and caramel, overt spice, tropical fruits, peppery alcohol and lingering hop bitterness, with a huge, lasting finish, ending semi-dry and warming. Effervescent and active on the palate, slick, hefty feel, body is certainly full. Very flavorful beer, in fact I could have done with a touch more subtlety here and there, but overall pretty enjoyable.
Aroma of hops, sweet. A strong and potent beer. The hops and alcohol almost hits you immediately. Lots of spice help to mellow out the 9%. Really good and a little different.
12oz bottle. Poured a clear golden color with a large sized off white head. Aromas of bananas, candi sugar, yeast, floral, and spices. Tastes of bananas, spices, citrus, burnt sugar, and yeast.
Pours a very clear orange color with a big loose head and some lace. The aroma is floral with some copper, rye bread, & light vanilla. Overly yeast driven spiciness is the dominant aroma here. The flavor has a weird clash at first between the bitterness, the spiciness, and the alcohol. This eventually balances a bit as the beer warms. The beer is fruity with some pear and citrus flavors, moderately sweet, with an overly soapy finish that lingers a bit.
Clear golden pour with a lively white head, leaving a good deal of lacing. The aroma holds delicious herbal dough, hop spiciness, nectar fruits, caramel malts, and perfume. The flavor comes through with a delicious yeast profile holding doughy floral notes, mild citrus, and perfumy spices. The mouthfeel with medium in body with great fine bubbled carbonation.
Clear golden amber with a fading rocky taupe topper and plenty of lacing. Aroma of yeast and candi sugar, banana, citrus, alcohol and sticky caramel. Taste isn’t very hoppy and it’s more of a straight up boozy Belgian beer. Banana, booze, yeast, sugar and fruit make up the bill with no real hops in sight. Body is a tad oily and finish has some burn on it.
Poured from bottle. Aroma of roasted malt, burnt caramel and grass. Bronze colored, tan head, lacing. Sweet roasted malt flavor with piney hop following up nicely. Pepper and licorice notes as well. Finished well. Nicely done, Mr. Roper.
12 ounce bottle opened 4/10/11. Pours a crystal clear golden color with a medium sized creamy offwhite head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of caramel, candi sugar, banana, spicy notes, green banana. The taste is bitter hops, banana, earthy notes, spicy finish. Lingering bitterness. Medium bodied.
Bottle. Pours amber. Medium white head. Aroma of bananas and cloves. Good lacing. Sweet spicy and fruity. Thicker palate. Very nice belgium. Only disappointment was that I didn’t feel the hop presence as expected from the comercial description.
Aroma is fairly mild. Very belgian and some floral. Appearance is a nice golden copper with very small whitish head. Taste is Belgian forward closely followed by alcohol hotness mixed with hops bitterness. Much sweetness present, almost cloying. Spicy, orange, coriander, with no aroma hops. Palate is medium full, with alcohol thin-ness... slimy. Overall this beer is a mess IMO. Thick and thin palate, hops are too bitter and just bring out the alcohol hotness. I could see this beer benefiting from aging, but right now it is not enjoyable.
Caramel, floral hops and oranges in nose. Candy-ish feel/taste to this, a bit of booze comes through. Sugary, citrusy in the palate as well. Ends up a bit hoppy and dry. Unusual, not sure what to make of it but like-able. Dark orange clear appearance.
Denver, Co. - Tower Liquors - 12 oz bottle - part of the Longshot Homebrew contest. Dark copper pour, sticky off-white head that leaves good lacing. Sweet aroma of candied sugar and cotton candy. Flavor is bold and sweet. Some strong candied sugar notes, some maple syrup, a bit of cognac. Mouthfeel is sticky enough for the style. Just a tad "hot".
355 ml bottle. Brooklyn, NY.
Clear amber colour with small off-white head.
Belgian yeast, fruity hops and spices in aroma.
Sugary sweetness, alcohol, mild fruity bitterness and citrus in flavour.
Not bad at all.
My bottle [12oz] shared with garthicus & HogTownHarry. Pours a deep orange with an average size lasting frothy off-white head. Aroma is quite sweet along with caramel malt, citrus fruit and light hops -- too sweet for my liking. Flavour’s also sweet, yeasty, citrusy and with a bitter finish. Alcohol is very well hidden. Average bodied. Good, not great.